N.J. Supreme Court won't hear Ronald Perelman's case

The state Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal that billionaire Ronald Perelman had filed in his long-running legal battle against the family that founded the Hudson News business.

Perelman had filed a lawsuit in 2008 against Hudson News patriarch Robert Cohen, who died in 2012, claiming that his ex-wife, Claudia Cohen, was orallypromised half of the Hudson News business.

Claudia Cohen, the daughter of Robert Cohen, married Perelman in 1985. The couple divorced nine years later. Samantha Perelman was the only child from that marriage. Claudia Cohen died of cancer in 2007 and her ex-husband became the executor of her estate, giving him legal standing to file a lawsuit against Robert Cohen.

Robert Cohen and his son James own Hudson News, the company best known for its hundreds of stores in airports and train stations. The retail portion of the company was sold in 2008 for $805 million.

Perelman claimed in his lawsuit that Robert Cohen, who suffered from a neurological disease for years before his death, was mentally incompetent to execute a will and that he needed a guardian.

He also challenged a demand from Robert Cohen that he repay a $10 million loan. Robert Cohen had argued that he had loaned his daughter $10 million before she died, and that Perelman, the executor of Claudia Cohen’s estate, should repay the loan, which comes to about $14 million with interest and legal fees.

Perelman argued that he should not pay because the $10 million was a gift and not a loan to Claudia Cohen.

The case went to trial in Superior Court in Hackensack, and a judge sided with Robert Cohen, finding that he was mentally competent and did not need a guardian. The judge also found that the $10 million was a loan, not a gift.

Perelman appealed, as did two law firms who had represented him in that case. A state appellate panel affirmed the lower court’s ruling that the Perelman claim was frivolous.

It also agreed with the lower court’s finding that the Perelman attorneys pursued a frivolous lawsuit, but it vacated the decision that ordered the law firms to pay $1.9 million and returned the case to a lower court.

Perelman and the two law firms then asked the state Supreme Court to hear their appeals. The high court, without offering a reason, declined in a Feb. 21 ruling that was released Monday.

A spokesman for the Cohen family declined to comment Monday, saying the ruling “speaks for itself.”

Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Perelman family, said in a statement Monday that the Supreme Court’s ruling was a “routine decision.”

She also said it was not just a Perelman request that was turned down by the high court. “The state Supreme Court also declined to hear James Cohen’s appeal seeking to overturn [a lower court’s ruling] that sanctions were not proper against Ronald Perelman,” Taylor said.

The Supreme Court decision comes as Perelman’s daughter, Samantha Perelman, remains tangled in another legal battle against her uncle, James Cohen, in a trial that continues to unfold in a Hackensack courtroom.

In the ongoing trial, Samantha Perelman claims that James Cohen unduly influenced the ailing Robert Cohen into cutting her out of his inheritance. She also claims that James Cohen manipulated his father into transferring most of the Hudson News business to James Cohen.

James Cohen’s attorneys argue that it was always Robert Cohen’s intention for his son to get the business. They also argue that Robert Cohen, despite his illness and old age, was a strong-willed man who was not vulnerable to undue influence.

The trial, which started in September, is expected to continue for several more weeks.

N.J. Supreme Court won't hear Ronald Perelman's case

The state Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal that billionaire Ronald Perelman had filed in his long-running legal battle against the family that founded the Hudson News business.

Perelman had filed a lawsuit in 2008 against Hudson News patriarch Robert Cohen, who died in 2012, claiming that his ex-wife, Claudia Cohen, was orallypromised half of the Hudson News business.

Claudia Cohen, the daughter of Robert Cohen, married Perelman in 1985. The couple divorced nine years later. Samantha Perelman was the only child from that marriage. Claudia Cohen died of cancer in 2007 and her ex-husband became the executor of her estate, giving him legal standing to file a lawsuit against Robert Cohen.

Robert Cohen and his son James own Hudson News, the company best known for its hundreds of stores in airports and train stations. The retail portion of the company was sold in 2008 for $805 million.

Perelman claimed in his lawsuit that Robert Cohen, who suffered from a neurological disease for years before his death, was mentally incompetent to execute a will and that he needed a guardian.

He also challenged a demand from Robert Cohen that he repay a $10 million loan. Robert Cohen had argued that he had loaned his daughter $10 million before she died, and that Perelman, the executor of Claudia Cohen’s estate, should repay the loan, which comes to about $14 million with interest and legal fees.

Perelman argued that he should not pay because the $10 million was a gift and not a loan to Claudia Cohen.

The case went to trial in Superior Court in Hackensack, and a judge sided with Robert Cohen, finding that he was mentally competent and did not need a guardian. The judge also found that the $10 million was a loan, not a gift.

Perelman appealed, as did two law firms who had represented him in that case. A state appellate panel affirmed the lower court’s ruling that the Perelman claim was frivolous.

It also agreed with the lower court’s finding that the Perelman attorneys pursued a frivolous lawsuit, but it vacated the decision that ordered the law firms to pay $1.9 million and returned the case to a lower court.

Perelman and the two law firms then asked the state Supreme Court to hear their appeals. The high court, without offering a reason, declined in a Feb. 21 ruling that was released Monday.

A spokesman for the Cohen family declined to comment Monday, saying the ruling “speaks for itself.”

Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Perelman family, said in a statement Monday that the Supreme Court’s ruling was a “routine decision.”

She also said it was not just a Perelman request that was turned down by the high court. “The state Supreme Court also declined to hear James Cohen’s appeal seeking to overturn [a lower court’s ruling] that sanctions were not proper against Ronald Perelman,” Taylor said.

The Supreme Court decision comes as Perelman’s daughter, Samantha Perelman, remains tangled in another legal battle against her uncle, James Cohen, in a trial that continues to unfold in a Hackensack courtroom.

In the ongoing trial, Samantha Perelman claims that James Cohen unduly influenced the ailing Robert Cohen into cutting her out of his inheritance. She also claims that James Cohen manipulated his father into transferring most of the Hudson News business to James Cohen.

James Cohen’s attorneys argue that it was always Robert Cohen’s intention for his son to get the business. They also argue that Robert Cohen, despite his illness and old age, was a strong-willed man who was not vulnerable to undue influence.

The trial, which started in September, is expected to continue for several more weeks.